


The Boy He Once Was

by foxy11814



Category: White Collar
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxy11814/pseuds/foxy11814
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter knew how his C.I. became Neal Caffrey, but he never wondered about his life as Danny Brooks until now. Three people, who call Neal "Danny" have shown up in his life again, and Neal is not at all comfortable with Peter getting to know them. Peter begins to worry when he notices several changes in Neal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story has nothing to do with my other fic “The Pain of Change.” As I was writing that story, I came up an idea for another story and I decided I wanted to get started on it right away. I find that I like to write multiple stories in a fandom. I hope no one minds—this fandom has been really welcoming when I posted my first story. That being said, I hope everyone enjoys this one.  
> This first chapter is essentially a prologue, if you will. It’s a feeler to see if anyone will be willing to join me for the ride. Thanks.

**The Boy He Was Before**

Neal watched in amusement as Peter burst into the warehouse, yelling "FBI," with his gun pointed straight at Johnny Mobbs. He was just caught trying to sell Neal counterfeit bonds.

"What is this, Jake?" Johnny yelled at Neal when he saw the look on his supposed friend's face.

Neal's slight smirk turned into a full-fledged grin and replied, "It looks like you've just been caught trying to sell horribly made counterfeit bonds."

Johnny struggled when Jones grabbed the suspect's hand, started to cuff him, and read him his rights. "Horribly made?" he questioned, clearly offended, but he couldn't say anything else, because Peter interrupted the conversation.

"Get him out of here, Jones."

"Yes, sir."

Peter looked at Neal and said, "You did good work, Neal. I think we'll have enough to keep Mobbs in jail for a long, long time."

Neal merely smiled and responded, "Glad to be of service."

=)=)=)

Peter walked back into the White Collar Division office within the FBI headquarters. Neal was slightly behind him, currently begging Diana to take him to a local art gallery to hear a lecture on Degas paintings, since it was out of his two-mile radius. He had already asked him, but he had plans with El that night to eat out. Besides, he really wasn't in the mood to sit on a hard folding chair and listen to someone chatter about something that was as appealing to him as a rubber steak.

Diana immediately went to her desk with Neal close behind her while Peter continued to walk to his office. By the time he reached the staircase, however, he saw Agents Fawkes and Reynard in the conference room with three civilians. He assumed these individuals were witnesses to the Friedman diamond heist that had happened only two days ago. " _Hopefully, they're not suspects because Fawkes shouldn't be interviewing them together if they are_ ," Peter thought to himself.

He didn't know why he was so concerned, though. Fawkes was a seasoned agent—he knew how to do his job. It's just that something didn't quite settle well when he studied the three people his coworker was interviewing: two men and a woman. All three looked to be to in their early to mid-thirties. The men could be brothers for all he knew. They had brown hair and brown eyes, medium builds, with skin that had been out in the sun for too long. The female also had brown hair—but it had a lighter blonde quality to it—and pale skin, so he didn't think she was related to the other two. He had been wrong before, though. In any case, each person was dressed in t-shirts and a pair of jeans with sneakers. They weren't the typical people they brought in for questioning, ironically. Usually, they dealt with conmen and thieves. These types of criminals tended to dress very sophisticated and neat…or at least they tried to. So, he wasn't sure why these three unsettled him so.

By this time, Peter had ascended the stairs and he watched as the three stood up and shook both agents' hands. They, then, walked out of the room and began to walk past him to get to the staircase. Agent Fawkes walked out and stood beside him. "Witnesses?" Peter questioned.

Fawkes shook his head and was just about to answer when they heard what almost sounded like a shriek. Every agent in the room turned to see the woman rush down the stairs and squeal, "Oh, my God! Danny! Is that you?"

Peter stepped to the railing and watched as she ran to Diana's desk and threw her arms around Neal. The other two men walked up with smiles on their faces and said, "Danny, man, it's good to see you!" They then proceeded to give him handshakes and pats on the back.

That's when Peter saw Neal's face. He smiled at the three of them warmly, but every so often he would glance at him nervously. Peter had just decided that he'd walk down there to meet Neal's friends when he heard Fawkes mutter, "Danny? Don't tell me I've stumbled onto a case that has something to do with Caffrey! Do you think 'Danny' is one of his old aliases?"

Peter hadn't really thought about it until that moment, but he widened his eyes when it dawned on him that yes, "Danny" was an old alias! It was _the_ original alias, the one given to him when Ellen, Neal and his mother went into Witness Protection. He looked at the individuals carefully when he realized they had to be friends of Neal's _before_ he became Neal Caffrey. They were friends from his youth; they had to be!

Curious, Peter walked away from Fawkes without answering his question. He started making his way down to the main floor, because he wanted to meet them. He saw Neal look at him once more and he noticed his C.I.'s almost fearful expression. Peter wrinkled his brow in confusion. Was Neal afraid of them meeting? He had gathered through their time together that Neal didn't like to talk about the life he once had. He had heard about Neal's life from age eighteen until now—he knew how "Neal Caffrey" came into existence, but Neal rarely spoke about the life of Danny Brooks. He wondered why now.

As he pondered this, he realized without a doubt that the skills Neal used today—his art skills, among others—must have been developed when he had been very young. Maybe these three had known Neal while he was honing those skills.

He stepped into the group as he heard Neal say, "I don't go by Danny anymore; it's Neal."

Peter immediately noticed the group's questioning expressions at the news, but before any of them could question it, he put a smile on his face and stepped beside his C.I. "Are you going to introduce us, Neal?"

Peter watched as the conman in Neal took over. His face that was once cheerful when he saw the three and nervous when he realized he was being observed vanished. In its stead was Neal's cool persona and countenance that he used when he was in a tough situation that he needed to get out of.

Peter knew he hadn't liked the look of these people when he saw them, and he knew if Neal was hiding his true feelings at this moment, he had every reason to be suspicious!

=)=)=)


	2. Chapter 2

The Boy He Once Was Chapter 2

A tightening of the jaw:  that was all Neal needed to see to know that Peter didn’t like his friends. Sighing reluctantly, he made the introductions as requested. “Peter, this is Ashlyn, Rob, and Jeffrey. Guys, this is Peter.”

Peter lifted his brow quizzically and Neal merely smiled. He knew what Peter wanted:  he wanted him to explain how he knew these people. That was a really long story that he didn’t want to get in to right now especially with everyone in front of him, so he remained quiet.

“Are you coworkers, Danny?” Ashlyn inquired curiously, filling the silence.

Closing his eyes briefly, he answered, “It’s Neal…and in a way, yes.”

Rob arched his eyebrow and asked, “What does that mean?”

It seemed as though Peter had enough with the semantics, because he entered the conversation. “Actually, I’m Neal’s handler. He is consulting for the FBI.”

The three looked at Neal with astonished expressions. 

“So, you finally made it?” Jeffrey asked with a grim smile. “You made it into law enforcement.”

Wishing for this torture to end, he decided to bite the bullet and tell them the truth. “Not exactly. I’m Peter’s criminal informant.”

Watching their faces carefully to see how they would react, he noticed that Jeffrey and Rob merely glanced at one another while Ashlyn smiled. He then looked at Peter and could tell that he was grinding his teeth back and forth from the slight flexing of cheek. Neal had a sudden desire to end this interlude, so he said quickly, “We’re working on an important case right now, so…” 

Rob interrupted him by exclaiming, “You’re investigating the diamond heist?”

Neal immediately noticed their worried expressions and grimaced. He knew at that moment that they knew something, something that they hadn’t mentioned to Agent Fawkes. “No, I’m not,” he said softly. He watched them relax a little, but they tensed back up when Peter spoke.

“Not yet, anyway, but I think Agent Fowley has plans to invite us on the case. We always love to lend a hand, right, Neal?”

He knew what Peter was doing. He was intimidating his friends, and Neal didn’t know how to feel about it. Part of him wanted Peter to scare them off so they’d leave town and stop doing whatever plans that they had, but another part wanted him to back off. So, he merely stood there without answering.

Ashlyn dug through her purse and pulled out a memo pad. She began writing on it. When she was finished, she ripped it out and said, “We’re staying in town for a little while. You should give me a call, so we can hang out sometime. Maybe we can hit a few bars.”

He nodded a little and replied, “Yeah, maybe.” He took the piece of paper, looked at it, and then shoved it into his Devore pants. “Well, it was nice seeing you again.” He gestured with his hands for them to begin walking. They took the hint and started heading towards the elevator. Neal followed and Peter stayed behind to watch.

When Ashlyn pressed the button to go downstairs, Neal glared at them and said, “Okay, what’s going on and why are you here?”

“Always suspicious, aren’t you, Danny? Or Neal, whatever.” Jeffrey asked sarcastically. 

When the elevator doors opened, the three stepped inside immediately. Jeffrey looked at Neal once more and said, “Call Ashlyn.”

Neal wanted to ask what would happen if he didn’t, but he noticed through his peripheral vision that Peter was walking his way. He nodded once and then stepped back. When the doors closed, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“Old friends or old enemies?” Peter asked when he reached his side.

Neal couldn’t look at him as he mumbled, “Friends…I guess.”

=)=)=)

Peter watched Neal walk away slowly. He was concerned. He followed Neal to his desk and asked, “How do you know those people, and is it possible that they have something to do with the diamond heist?”

Neal walked behind his desk and sat down. He stared at the top of it for a moment before meeting his eyes. “Why are you asking me about the diamond heist? Wouldn’t Fawkes be able to answer that question better?”

Peter knew in his gut that Neal knew something or at least had suspicions, but he didn’t have any proof to start questioning Neal. It might turn into a borderline interrogation and he didn’t want to do that at this point. Their relationship was strained enough right now. So, instead of following that line of questioning, he replied. “Perhaps. So, tell me how you know them instead.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Neal said with a sigh as he leaned back in the chair. “They called me ‘Danny.’”

Peter supplied the answer, “You knew them when you were a kid.” He paused and stated purposely to gage Neal’s reaction, “Maybe I should run downstairs before they leave. It might be interesting to learn about a young Neal Caffrey.”

He didn’t like the reaction he received. Neal almost looked fearful, but he quickly hid it under a mask of indifference. He replied simply, “There was never a young Neal Caffrey. Danny Brooks and Neal Caffrey are two very different individuals.”

Peter heard the resolve in Neal’s voice and was surprised by its intensity. He couldn’t help but ask the question that fell from his lips:  “Who is the real person?”

Clearly startled, Neal looked up at him for a few moments before looking off to the side to contemplate with himself. Eventually, he answered, “For half of my life I was Danny Brooks. For the other half I was Neal Caffrey with other aliases.” 

The implication was clear. Danny Brooks was the identity he had held the longest, so Peter didn’t know how to feel when his C.I. continued softly, “I hope Neal is the real person.”

Peter was conflicted at his answer because he liked Neal, but he was a criminal. Danny Brooks, on the other hand, had wanted to be a police officer, or so Neal had said in the past. Where did the preference for “Neal Caffrey” stem from? Was it merely that he wanted his true identity, his birthname ‘Neal’ and not some name policemen had given him, or was Neal running from something that happened in Danny Brooks’ past? He knew either answer was possible.

Before he could reply or ask him those very questions, Neal rose to his feet slowly and said, “Suddenly, I’m not feeling so well, Peter. I’m heading home to lie down.” He started walking away without even getting the ‘okay.’” 

Peter quickly followed him to the elevator and as they waited, he asked, “Is everything okay, Neal?”

Neal nodded without looking at him. “Everything is fine, Peter. I really don’t feel well.”

He didn’t believe that for a second. When the elevator doors opened, he offered, “Do you want me to drive you home? I don’t mind.”

Neal shook his head and said, “No, you don’t have to. I’ll be all right.”

As he stepped into the elevator, Peter studied his options on what he could do. He could insist on taking Neal home to make sure he was okay, or he could go talk to Agent Fawkes and find out why he was interviewing Neal’s old friends. In the end, the latter won. He wanted to know what was going on with those individuals—he wanted to know who they really where and why they were in New York supposedly. He would track Neal’s movements with his anklet to make sure he got home safely.

“Okay,” he replied to Neal. “Feel better soon.”

Neal upturned his lips slightly and leaned against the railing as the doors closed.


	3. Chapter 3

The Boy He Was Before Chapter 3

Peter walked back into the office and crossed the room to Agent Fawkes, who now stood on the main floor at his desk.

"Who were those individuals?" Peter asked abruptly, not wasting any time with pleasantries.

Fawkes looked over and grimaced. Peter knew the agent was wondering if he was going to take an interest in the case and take it away from. Almost huffily, Fawkes replied, "They're persons of interest. They were on several cameras standing in and around Friedman's on the day before the heist. It looked like that might be casing the place, but there wasn't sufficient evidence of that. I'm afraid the interview didn't help much either."

Peter shook his head and asked, "Why did you interview them together? You might have caught them having contradictory stories if you hadn't."

Fawkes turned his whole body to Peter and replied, "I know what I'm doing, Agent Burke. I'm just giving them enough rope to hang themselves, I assure you."

Peter glanced back towards the elevators and questioned, "So, you do think they're responsible for the diamond heist?"

"I believe they're involved somehow."

Peter nodded and walked away without saying anything more. He climbed the stairs and went back into his office. He thought about the way Neal had acted around his supposed friends. He had seemed very nervous. He had a feeling it had nothing to do with Danny Brooks' and Neal Caffrey's lives colliding right now, especially after his conversation with Agent Fawkes.

=)=)=)

Neal walked into his apartment and sighed as he rubbed his eyes wearily. He pulled the paper out of his pocket and stared at the phone number and address. He couldn't believe it: Ashlyn, Rob, and Jeffrey were actually in New York City. " _Why did they leave St. Louis_?" he questioned himself. In the end, it didn't matter. They were here, they had stumbled across him, and they wanted to get reacquainted. The question was whether he wanted the same.

Placing the paper on his dining room table, he sat down and stared at it as his mind drifted to the past…

" _Hey, Danny, wait up!" Rob yelled._

_Danny turned around to see Rob and Jeffrey chasing after them. He glanced at Ashlyn beside him and asked, "What do you think? Should we wait on them?"_

_She giggled and replied, "Nah, let's beat them there!"_

_Ashlyn and Danny took off as quickly as they could. Within minutes, they were out of breath but where they wanted to go: the warehouse district in Downtown St. Louis._

_The two teens slowed their pace when they got to the abandoned building Danny and his friends had claimed as their hangout spot. They pushed on a couple of boards over the entrance downward so they could turn the knob and open the door. Once that was accomplished, they bent down and crawled through the hole at the bottom. It was just large enough for their slim fourteen year old bodies to fit through._

" _Very funny!" they heard Rob exclaim just as they were pushing the door shut. Danny abruptly stopped his actions and held the door open._

_He smiled and said, "We weren't trying to be funny. We were trying to race you here and we won."_

_Both Rob and Jeffrey rolled their eyes. They were slightly older—fifteen, as a matter of fact—and Danny knew they thought they were more mature than him. Regardless, they all liked hanging out with one another._

_Rob slung his backpack from his shoulder and said, "That's not fair to race us when we're carrying the heavy stuff." He bent over, unzipped the bag, and then handed Danny a forty-five. "Careful, it's loaded."_

_Now, it was Danny's turn to roll his eyes. He was willing to bet he knew everything there was to know about guns. He was going to be a cop just like his dad, so he had to know how to handle them. He was actually proud that he already had that ability at only fourteen. He pulled out the chamber to see how many bullets he had. He then glanced around the building and said, "Okay, let's find some cans. I'll set them up in the raftors!"_

_Danny and Ashlyn quickly ran around the open storage room and gathered soda cans they had left scattered around from past times hanging out there. Once they had a reasonable amount piled up, he went over to Rob and said, "Let me borrow your backpack."_

_The boy handed it over and Danny filled it with the cans. Then, he threw it on his back and ran for the staircase at the end of the building. Above the ground floor there were several walkways that led all over the ceiling. Danny chose to set up the cans on a railing near the center of the room. He then grinned at his handy work. Each can was evenly spaced out with the labels facing outward. He paid attend to those kind of details all the time and it drove Rob and Jeffrey crazy._

_Almost as if on cue, Jeffrey yelled, "It looks fine, Danny, gosh! Get down here!"_

_He quickly but carefully left the cans. He didn't want to run because the vibration of his actions might knock the cans onto the ground before they even had the opportunity to shoot at them. Once Danny was on the floor, he exclaimed, "I go first."_

_The others shook their heads, had raised their guns, and shot three cans off the railing before Danny even joined them. Once he reached his friends, he lifted his gun to take his shot when he noticed something fluttering behind the cans. At a slight angle, he saw two birds flying frantically. He realized the noise must have frightened them. "Oh! Birds! We could have hit them!" Danny said. "Let me go back up there and move the cans! They probably have a nest somewhere around there."_

_Rob laughed at him and asked, "Why in the world would you do that? Now, we have live targets!"_

_Danny's mouth dropped open. "Rob, no!"_

_Jeffrey and Ashlyn laughed at his reaction. "Oh, come on, Danny," Jeffrey chastised. "It's only birds. There are plenty around, you know."_

_Rob raised his gun and said, "I got the one on the left."_

_Jeffrey nodded as he lifted his gun to presumably kill the other. Danny couldn't stand to watch. He set the gun and the backpack on the ground and ran to the door. He was just crawling through the door when he heard two gunshots and two animals crying out in pain. The three teens inside hooped and hollered, congratulating themselves._

=)=)=)

Neal grimaced as his mind came back to the present. That was one of the first times Neal realized that guns weren't all they were cracked up to be. As Peter knew, he knew how to shoot guns. He was very good at it, but he didn't care for them. Ashlyn, Rob, and Jeffrey had contributed a great deal to that particular hatred and not just because of the birds…but he didn't want to think about that.

He glanced at the paper again and knew he had to call. If he didn't, he was afraid they'd show back up at the office. He didn't want to risk Peter talking to them again. It wasn't that he was afraid of Peter finding out more about Danny Brooks; rather, he was afraid that Rob, Jeffrey, and Ashlyn would get to know Peter. He didn't want his _old friends_ messing things up for Peter and they surely would do that if given the chance. Okay, and there were _a few things_ he didn't want Peter to know about from his past.

Picking up the paper, he walked over to the phone and dialed the number slowly. Ashlyn picked up the phone on the first ring.

"Hey, Ashlyn. It's Neal," he greeted nervously. He was surprised at his anxiousness.

"Who?" he heard her ask. She sounded genuinely confused.

Sighing, he reminded her, "It's Danny. Remember, I go by 'Neal' now."

Ashlyn laughed and said, "Oh, you will always be Danny to me. You might as well stop trying to make us call you Neal. We know who you really are!"

He didn't want to get into the whole story of Neal being his real name. Instead, he said, "You wanted me to call you. What's up?"

"I told you what we wanted. We want you to come hang out with us!" she replied happily.

He heard Rob in the background, yelling, "Tell him to get his ass over here! We have to do more than talk to him!"

Neal glanced down at his anklet, for once happy that it was there. "I'm afraid I can't." Before Ashlyn could question why, he explained, "I wear a tracking anklet. I have a two-mile radius that I have to stay in. Your hotel is outside those bounds, I'm afraid."

He heard what sounded like the mouthpiece of the phone being covered up. It was confirmed when he heard muffles that he couldn't quite make out. Then, he heard movement and Ashlyn said, "That's okay. Jeffrey said we can come to you. What's your address?"

Neal closed his eyes. There was no way he was giving them June's address. "I rent a room in someone else's house, so I don't bring too many people over. Why don't we meet in Theodore Roosevelt Park at 3:00? Do you know how to get there?"

"Yeah, we know where it is," Ashlyn replied. "We'll be there." There was a brief pause and then she added, "It's good to see you again, Danny. I've missed you a lot."

Neal grimaced. He couldn't return the sentiment, so he said quickly, "Thanks. I have to go. I'll see you then." He hung up abruptly and then stared at the phone. He decided to call someone else.

"Moz, it's Neal."


	4. Chapter 4

The Boy He Was Before Chapter 4

Neal sat on a bench in the center of the park near a large water fountain and waited for Ashlyn and the others to show up. He was still in shock and confused as to why they were in New York City, but he had a feeling he would find out very soon. 

As if on cue, he heard his old name being called out. “Danny!”

He stood and reached to button his jacket when he remembered he had taken off his Devore suit and settled for a pair of blue jeans and a loose black t-shirt. Yes, it wasn’t the usual apparel of Neal Caffrey, but it was the old style of Danny Brooks. Since it seemed like his old friends were insistent on seeing Danny, he figured he’d play along and deliver him on a silver platter. That way, perhaps, he would find out why they were there and what they wanted.

He watched Ashlyn, Jeffrey, and Rob close the distance between them. When they reached the bench, they merely stared at one another for a moment. 

Ashlyn looked at the two friends who accompanied them and back at Neal. Everyone could feel the tension at this meeting, but it was apparent that Ashlyn didn’t like it. She smiled and said, “Hi, Danny. I’m glad you agreed to meet us.”

He nodded and said, “I don’t think I had much choice.” He forced himself to smile, and the others grinned.

“Now is that any way to greet your old friends out of the presence of the FBI?” Rob asked.

Neal’s smile fell as he questioned, “How do you want me to greet you?”

Rob shrugged and said, “Well, a legitimate smile for your saviors would be nice, for starters.”

Neal looked away from Rob and looked back at Ashlyn. She was always the easier one to deal with. “I’m sorry. It’s just a shock to see you. I’ve started a new life here and I didn’t expect my old one to catch up with me.” He then glanced at Jeffrey and asked, “Why are you here?”

Rob reached out and grabbed Neal’s arm to get his attention. “We have a job. Imagine our surprise when we saw you here. It’s like fate.”

He frowned. “What do you mean ‘fate’?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We have a job and we were actually debating on how to…” He paused to look around at the people present. Cautiously, he mumbled, “…get to our location. Now, we know. You’ll get us inside.”

Neal shook his head and said, “I told you in the past that I have no intention of participating in one of your jobs. When I broke into those warehouses, it was a stupid boy worrying about a place to hang out with his friends. Before I left St. Louis, I told you I didn’t want that life and I don’t want it now.”

Rob and Jeffrey looked at each other and laughed. Ashlyn frowned and said sharply, “Cut it out, you two. Just tell him.”

Neal continued to look at Rob as he grinned almost sinisterly. “Yeah, okay, Ash. Look, _Neal_ —that’s what you’re calling yourself, right?—we looked you up after we saw you earlier. You claim to still be the boy who wants to follow in the footsteps of your dad, but it seems to me being a stealer and a forger is a poor way of doing that. It seems like your new life actually followed what we had in mind. The only difference is you wouldn’t have gotten caught with us.”

Neal smirked. He knew he was going to get a rise out of them, but he didn’t care at that point. “No, the difference would be you riding on my coat tails and cashing in on my successes. No, thanks. Besides, I’ve changed my life. I work for the FBI now.”

The two men glared at him and Rob spat, “Only because you have to!”

Neal opened his mouth and was about to respond when he saw both of them ball up his fist. He knew there was no way he could take them both on if things got physical. He backed up a little and was surprised when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned his head and cried out in surprise, “Peter!”

=)=)=)

Peter had been sitting in the FBI building fifteen minutes ago and had decided to check Neal’s anklet for the tenth time since his C.I. had left earlier. He still had a bad feeling that something was going on with Neal and his old friends, so he wanted to track his whereabouts. When had he checked it the last time, he noticed that Neal had finally left his apartment and was stagnant in Theodore Roosevelt Park. Figuring he was meeting with his old friends since Mozzie would have simply shown up at June’s, he hurried to the park.

Luckily, he was just in time. He had seen the menacing stares from the two men of the group. When Neal had taken a cautious step back, he knew it was time to make his presence known to everyone.

“Neal,” he greeted calmly. He glanced at his partner. That’s when he got a really good look at Neal since he was focused solely on him. He could tell something was different about him, but he couldn’t quite place it until he looked at his clothes. Shocked, he blinked a few times. Wearing baggy shirts and blue jeans wasn’t his C.I.’s typical attire. He couldn’t remember a time he had seen him dress down so much. “What’s going on?”

Neal swallowed slowly. Undoubtedly, everyone present could tell he was nervous. “Nothing, Peter. I’m just meeting up with my friends.” He grinned, but Peter could tell it was one of those panicked smiles.

Rob, on the other hand, wasn’t as nervous as Neal at that moment. His glare that had been on Neal intensified when he focused on Peter. He wrinkled his nose in what looked to be disgust and spat, “Why does the FBI show up everywhere we are recently?”

Peter glanced at Neal briefly before replying, “I can’t answer for the times before I met you, but since then, I can tell you the common denominator:  it’s Neal. The more you deal with him, the more you’re likely to see one of us. Good thing you’re all good, law-abiding citizens, right?”

Jeffrey and Rob smirked as Ashlyn replied, “Yeah, exactly.”

Peter turned his attention to Neal and said, “We need you in the office again. There’s been a break in another one of our cases.”

Neal looked back at his friends and Peter could literally see the wheels turning. He wondered what he was thinking. He knew it would be something that would get Neal into trouble.

Neal smiled and said, “I’ll be right there, but can I speak with these three for five minutes more? Then, I’ll be the FBI’s for the rest of the evening.”

Peter nodded and asked, “So you’re feeling better now?”

“Yeah.”

Peter walked away, leaned against a tree twenty feet away, and continued to watch this meeting.

=)=)=)

Neal shook his head at Peter. He didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. Peter had the habit of showing up at the important moments. It was always at a moment when Neal would have rather have had him far, far away. Walking closer to Rob and Jeffrey, he hissed softly, “Okay, just tell me. What do you want?”

“We already told you,” Jeffrey answered. “We have a job. We want you to help us break in.”

Neal glanced back at Peter before questioning, “Didn’t you get enough earlier in the week? I know the Friedman diamond heist was your work. I knew as soon as I saw you.”

“Well, we have another,” Rob spat, “and lucky for us, you have finally joined us in our chosen line of work. And, you will help us.”

Neal raised his eyebrows and asked, “Oh, and how do you know that?”

Rob smiled harshly and replied, “It’s simple, really. I’ll go over there and tell that FBI agent about what happened in St. Louis.” 

Neal felt his skin blanch. 

“I’ll tell him that you caused two people to die.”

Neal frowned and shouted, “What?” He quieted when he turned to see Peter move his back from the tree and look at him with concern. He lowered his voice and snapped, “You know that wasn’t my fault! It was yours! You should have never been there and you were the ones who overreacted.”

“Overreacted?” questioned Rob. “You would be dead right now if it weren’t for us! You owe us! But that doesn’t matter. You’re going to help us. I assume you are aware of the felony murder law in Missouri, which provides that if a killing occurs during the commission of a felony, the persons responsible for the felony can be charged with murder. That includes you, _Neal_. You were the one who broke in to that warehouse! You were the one who caused us to have to bring out those guns! You were the one…”

He shook his head. “You know my intention was not to burglarize that place. My crime was trespassing, which is not a felony!”

Rob and Jeffrey laughed. “Do you think they’re really going to believe that about _Neal Caffrey_ if we tell them otherwise?” No. They’ll stick you back in prison for a long, long time. Even your buddy FBI agent over there won’t believe you.” Rob smirked and continued, “We’ll be in contact.”

Neal frowned before turning to look at Peter. The truth was he actually didn’t know if Peter would believe him or not. Right now, their relationship was strained because of everything that had happened with Hagan. He didn’t know if he could risk it…


	5. Chapter 5

The Boy He Was Before Chapter 5

Peter watched as Rob, Jeffrey, and Ashlyn walked away from Neal. He didn’t like what he had seen and he certainly didn’t like what he saw now. Neal was as white as a ghost and he actually seemed worried. Walking back to his C.I.’s side, he continued to watch the others leave. When they were out of sight, he turned to his partner and exclaimed, “Okay, Neal, it’s time to talk to me. What’s going on?”

Neal looked startled at his words, but then the expression melted away. “I don’t know what you mean, Peter.” He tried to plaster on one of his thousand-watt smiles, but it didn’t work. He knew Neal too well to fall for that look.

“Neal, I know something is going on. They’re old friends of yours and clearly, they’re mixed into things they shouldn’t be. They’re too jumpy around me and I can see how uncomfortable they’re making you. Just tell me what’s going on, so I can help.”

Neal’s smile immediately faded and morphed into a frown. He looked back in the direction of his friends before he sighed. “They are old friends of mine,” Neal whispered, almost to himself like his mind was lost in the past, “and they are currently mixed up in something that they probably shouldn’t be, but they weren’t always that way…”

_Danny laughed as he watched Jeffrey toss a rock into the air and try to catch it. The results were comical, because Jeffrey had selected a rock that was barely together. As soon as it had connected with his palm, it broke apart and dropped sand onto his face. He started coughing and frantically wiping dirt out of his hair._

_Danny glanced over at Ashlyn, who rolled her eyes playfully. “And, they tell us to grow up all the time?” she whispered. “Maybe we should tell them to get some common sense!” She giggled._

_He grinned as he picked up a small pebble and called out, “Hey, Jeff, you’ll probably have more luck with this!” He tossed the rock at him and Jeffrey barely caught it after bobbling it a few times._

_Jeffrey looked at the small rock and before tossing it to the ground. He groaned and exclaimed, “Gosh, what’s taking Rob so long? He should have been here ten minutes ago!”_

_Before Danny or Ashlyn could answer, they heard Rob answer loudly, “I’m right here! Leslie called me when I was leaving the house.” Everyone turned around to see Rob crossing the street to join them._

_“What did she want?” Jeffrey asked curiously when Rob finally joined them._

_Rob shrugged. “I don’t know. She was asking about you and Danny. I think some of her friends must like you guys.”_

_Danny looked over at Ashlyn when she heard her growl a little. He smiled and asked teasingly, “What’s wrong, Ash? Jealous?”_

_“Of course not!” she exclaimed. She raised her hands to hit him, so he quickly grabbed her wrists and backed away from her. She followed and continued to try to hit him. This time it was with her legs._

_Laughing, Danny finally let her go and took off running._

_“Cut it out, you two! I want Danny to show us!”_

_Ashlyn stopped running and spat at her friend, “You better be lucky Rob’s here!”_

_“Yeah, yeah…” Danny said, seeming unconcerned._

_He walked back to the others and asked, “What do you want me to open?”_

_“It’s over here,” Rob answered. They walked a few blocks and then turned to the left down an alley. They were at what used to be an old clothing store that had closed down because of its now secluded location. Hardly any businesses were on this side of town anymore. Rob pointed to the door and demanded, “Open it.”_

_Danny grinned as he pulled out his pins and hooks, kneeled before the door, and began to try to open it._

_“Where’d you get those?” Jeffrey asked. “And, where did you learn how to do it?”_

_Without looking back at his friends, Danny replied, “I found it with my dad’s stuff. Cops needs these kind of things to get into places secretly without busting the door down. As for how I learned how to do it, I taught myself. It took a lot of practice, but…” He hopped up triumphantly when he heard the soft click the door made. “…it was worth the effort.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside._

_The others followed him. “Wow!” Ashlyn said. “Nice place.”_

_Danny nodded and said, “Yeah, but I don’t think this is a good place to hang out. The windows are too big. Anyone passing by will see us.”_

_Rob rolled his eyes and said, “And, Mr. I-Wanna-Be-a-Cop doesn’t want to get caught breaking-and-entering.”_

_“Right,” he replied without embarrassment. “Why don’t we go to one of those abandoned warehouses downtown? No one would be surprised to see kids using it as a place to hang out. I think if the cops found out, they’d simply give us a warning. What do you say?”_

_“It’s worth a shot,” Jeffrey replied reluctantly, stepping back outside._

_Danny was the last to leave as he locked the door back. When he turned back around, Rob handed him five dollars for winning the bet that he could open the first door he asked him to._

“Neal? Neal?” Peter said, trying to get his attention.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, Peter. My mind got away from me,” Neal replied, blinking his eyes rapidly as if he were trying to clear his eyes of other visions.

“I can see that. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Neal stared at Peter for a second before finally admitting softly, “I think I’m in trouble.”

“Why? What did you do?” Peter asked exasperatedly.

Neal frowned and stated, “ _I_ didn’t do anything!”

“Then, why are you in trouble?” 

Neal looked down at the ground and mumbled, “When I was a kid, slightly before Helen told me the truth about my father and I left St. Louis, I…witnessed a murder.”

Peter’s jaw dropped open. He couldn’t believe his ears. “What?”

Neal shook his head and explained, “I don’t know. Looking back now, it might have been viewed as self-defense or something. I just don’t know. They were just trying to help me.”

“Who were? Rob and the rest of your friends?”

Neal nodded. “And, now they’ve changed. They’re a lot worse than they were back then and they’re trying to use what happened against me! I don’t know what I should do, Peter.”

Neal looked like he was about to hyperventilate, so Peter grabbed his shoulders and sat him down on a nearby bench. “Okay, Neal, calm down. Tell me what happened.”

“Off the record?” the conman questioned. 

Peter smirked. Neal was nothing if not cautious. “Yes, this can be off the record. Tell me everything.”

“Okay,” Neal said with a shaky voice. “But first, I want to tell you a little about my past. I want you to understand who Danny Brooks was before I tell you the events of that day. Maybe it will give some credibility that I’m not responsible for what happened that day. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time…We all were, but unfortunately, it seems to have changed my friends for the worst.”

Peter squeezed his shoulder and said, “Neal, I’ll believe you whether you tell me about your past as Danny Brooks or not, but if you feel the need to. Go ahead.”

Neal nodded and swallowed roughly. “As you know, Mom told me that Dad died when I was only three, so I had grown up hearing tales about how great a cop my dad was…”


End file.
